Oops sorry about the edits.
Yes I have a number of entries under {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}, but none of them are upper or lower filters, which is what the other posts say to look for.
The closest I get is IDE/ATAPI, which I think is close but no banana.

Just for example this is my registry with Nero installed:



Anyway I am passing out but will return tomorrow.

Other members may have ideas while I dream.

Sleep tight, I think I could pass out myself

Hi Jephree,
I think the sleep did me good.
Had another look at that screen shot of your registry and went through mine. I have found 3 instances of upper filters, (a picture is truly worth a thousand words) which, interestingly, the little Microsoft guided help gizmo could not find.
If I remove these, will it, might it, could it, solve the problem? (I have backed up the registry).
The presence of these filters begs the question of why, 10 weeks after the last clean install, have these filters started causing such havoc only in mid January?
Then there is the conspiracy theory, ie Windows Media Player is the only app on the computer which will rip CDs. dBpoweramp, Foobar have failed, in both ripping and converting, and NCH Switch will not convert formats. And just to prove it is a pain EAC will not rip the CD I attempted because one track did not match the CDDB, no wonder people are saying dBpoweramp is now the better option, I am certainly missing it atm.
Whatever, if removing these filters solves the problem (will it do anything to Nero?) it will be a whole heap less hassle than reinstalling Windows, which was penciled in for tomorrow - and I was NOT looking forward to that.
I would appreciate your opinion.

These filters are created by burning software. Many general burning problems are the result of conflicting filters. Uninstalling burners does not remove these filters so replacing or running multiple burners raises this possible conflict. Media software tends to want to be very proprietary. Every burning program wants to control all media and as such pose potential for conflict.

I do not think removing the filters affects the programs functionality.

Backup the registry. This is a good backup: ERUNT and NTREGOPT

Also before deleting the filters you can export them to your own backup folder if you want.

This process is simply a widely used first step troubleshooter for burning problems.

If it doesn't help then restore your registry and we can begin to look elsewhere.

If you want to read more about these filters you might browse this search:

filters upper lower burner - Google Search

Hi Jephree,
I went ahead and removed the 3 occurrences of upper filters ... and disabled the mouse and keyboard!
I now have a new installation of Windows, used up over 15% of my monthly download quota, and dBpoweramp is now operating alongside all of the possible culprits in its initial demise - go figure.
The solution seems a bit of a sledgehammer to crush a walnut but that is the way things are sometimes.
Frustrating thing is I will never know what was the culprit in this misadventure, I think I will install ERUNT and NTREGOPT so I have a less radical option if I have a similar problem, thanks for that, and all the other suggestions, and for putting up with me when I got a bit cranky.
Cheers

Well glad things are OK. Thanks for the update.

Quotas suck. Were your mouse and keyboard USB? Did they still function in the BIOS?

I run ERUNT before any installation of hardware or software. It is a very excellent registry backup.

We are here to help. Let us know if we can help further.

Both mouse and keyboard are USB, I could not get the mouse to work at all, and it was just the final straw, so ...
They say it is an ill wind that blows no good. For some time I had a minor but annoying problem with Thunderbird. It would not respond to me clicking on a link so I was reduced to the AOL method of cutting and pasting links into a new tab. I followed the instructions to make Firefox my default browser any number of times and ended up getting bored with the whole thing. Today when I installed Firefox I was asked if I wanted to make it my default browser? I said yes, and now Thunderbird does respond to links! Should get a laugh when I post that on Mozillazine. Which will be small compensation for the complete failure of MozBackup to save my Firefox profile, bookmarks etc, and not a single email saved for Thunderbird. Will have to copy my contacts across from gmail.
Quotas are a bit of a drag, especially when I know I downloaded SP3 twice this month, such is life.
I did have Erunt on a previous incarnation of this computer, for some reason I did not reinstall after the last Windows reinstall. I seem to recall it was recommended by a user of this forum. I will bear your advice in mind for the future.
Just out of curiosity, where are you located, and what did you use to create your avatar?

Florida.

I used Copy Paste In other words I just took it from somewhere years ago. Don't remember.

You can make stick GIFs with almost any photo editor. Just like old "flip page" books you just build up a series of "pages" then run them together.

Here are some fun ones:

Stick Figures Animated GIFs page 1 | Graphics Grotto

Thanks for the info